White Dragon of the Desert Moon
by WhiteDragonWarrior
Summary: Everything about Laila Venesacia is nothing short of mysterious and disasterous. all shes ever known and loved has slipped from her grasp. but with a bit of luck and a mysterious man with blue eyes, she may be able to find peace and happiness at last.
1. The Mysterious Night Child

"If it's true that people can be read like open books, then Laila would be a book in an undecipherable language" ~~Zackary Akil

* * *

**Chapter 1**

From the day of her birth Laila Venesacia was a walking mystery. Her absurdly light features were a complete clash to her mothers' dark, tan Egyptian features. In truth her looks derived from her father, a wealthy European man who had married her mother at a young age. However, since the marriage was short-lived (due to her fathers' dislike of living 'below his status') the comparisons between them could never be made by the general public. Despite only living with her mother Laila couldn't be happier. She was a free spirit with a loving heart, adventurous soul and a mind full of curiosity. These qualities were unfortunate however, due to her mothers' profession. Being an Egyptologist meant that she was constantly around precious artifacts and delicate scriptures… as well as deadly traps. And being the adventurous type she enjoyed exploring the ancient tombs despite her mother's and co-workers warnings, which tended to have disastrous results.

On occasion however the little blue-eyed, white-haired wonder would, some way or another, find crucial and marvelous discoveries within the caverns of the ancient structures. It was a constant mystery to the archeologists on how she could find such things. When questioned on the matter, the young child would simply shrug her shoulders and say "I just followed the instructions" and then she'd run off to play with the other children. So the mystery continued. One day however, everything came into light when Laila came up to her mother and asked a peculiar question.

"Ummi, what does annihilation mean?"*

Her mother stared at the little girl looking up at her with her innocent eyes, waiting for the answer to her bizarre question.

"Well… it means to destroy a thing or group of people completely." She was about to ask why her 9 year old daughter would ask about something so dreadful when the little girl hugged and thanked her, then ran off once again into the tomb they were excavating. Now tired of the odd attitude of her daughters actions, She and some of her co-workers (who were there at the time) went off to find Laila. After a few minutes they found her lying casually on the ground with her feet swinging up and down as she stared at a papyrus scroll in her hand. One of the men walked up to her and knelt down to her side.

"Laila, where did you find that scroll?" He asked. Without taking her eyes off of it she point to a chest in the corner of the room. With a bit more seriousness he spoke again. "Child, you must put that back where it belongs, these artifacts must be preserved and they may be destroyed if you keep them out in the open like this."

"aww" she whimpered in complaint "but it's getting to the best part!" The adults stared wide-eyed at her with the statement she had just made.

"Preposterous" the man mumbled as he wretched the scroll from her hand. He looked of the scroll and laughed. "Child, enough of these silly games. This scroll is written in demotic, the casual cursive of the ancient people. There's no way that you could understand such a thing."

"Yes I can!" she yelled as she took the scroll back and read out it's contents. "_And with thanks to the great skill of Pharaoh- may he live forever, under the guidance of the gods Mentu and Neith, Egypt's imperial army was able to defeat the Nubians and bring down their goal to bring our great country to annihilation. As each flank surrounded the unready tyrants…" _The girl continued to read the story of the Pharaoh entombed at the site without falter in a scripture that only few archeologists ever mastered to learn.

*Ummi- Arabic word for mother.

* * *

The news of the girls' uncanny ability to read demotic script spread like wildfire over the Egyptology world. Laila's presence was now welcomed at digs as archeologists took no wait to take advantage of the little girl's gift. She had no objections to their constant fuss and demands over her attention, considering it was a great trade from the treatment they had given her before. She enjoyed the attention and praises. Of course, her mother worried for her. After all, how did she even learned the language in the first place? Well sure she had taught Laila to read Hieroglyphics, but it was at a basic state. Not to mention that she herself didn't know demotic script. So yes, it was an unusual situation indeed.

One night during dinner she took Laila aside and brought her away from the camp so to be out of ears reach of any of the other workers. Once away from camp she sat her daughter down and took her in her arms. "Laila-azizety**, I know that it must be hard on you to have to face so many questions in your life, but I must know the truth: how is it that you understand the writing of the ancient people?" The little girl closed her eyes and thought about it, and then she looked up to her mother and smiled.

"I don't know Ummi. I guess it's like reading Arabic. You look at it and it just make's sense." Her mother shook her head and laughed. She looked up at the night sky and spoke again.

"You're a strange one. And I don't mean for your looks or your gifts. You are just as I named you: Laila, beautiful night. You are so much like the night. Whenever a cloud of mystery covers you, all others are shrouded in darkness and confusion and are at a complete loss. And even when the clouds lift and the light of the stars and moon may shine bright it is still very dark and difficult to see exactly what is going on around them." She looked down at her daughter to see her looking back up at her in confusion. Her daughter made a strange face, trying to understand her mothers' words. The girl eventually gave up and, with a shrug, looked back up towards the sky and played with the constellations.

** 'My dear' in Arabic.


	2. The Stranger

**Disclaimer**: I don't YugiOh, obviously. If there's someone in this story that you've never heard of on the show/manga before, most likely I own them :P

Okay, so by the time I got onto page six I realized that this was getting WAY too long. So I'm gonna save the rest for the next chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 2**

The sun shone bright above Luxor. The sands scorched under Re's gaze as he reached the half-way point of his travels towards the afterlife. Despite the harsh May afternoon the streets where full of movement and life as people made their way to do their daily rounds and routines. This day however a new errand was being made. A tall stranger to the lands made his way through the crowds toward a group of men waiting for him at the place where it was planned for their departure. They greeted him as he approached. For a moment they made small talk as they walked towards the parked helicopter. Once inside the leader of the group started the helicopter and began to fly towards the outskirts of the city.

"I hope that your flight had been pleasant sir." The man next to the stranger asked.

"It was very much so, thank you." The stranger replied.

"It will not be long now." The pilot commented "we will be approaching Abydos within the hour."

The stranger made no reply to this statement but simply laid back and waited for their arrival. The great ruins rose higher as they drew nearer, and with it the stranger's eyes gleamed with anticipation; enough, so that his left eye began to glow a golden aura.

* * *

"Look, Ummi, look! See what I've found!" the little girl grinned triumphantly at she held, much to her mother's horror, a black scorpion.

"Laila! What on earth are you thinking? One touch of its tail and it will kill you!"

"But Ummi it's okay. See, I'm holding its tail. It can't sting me." she forced it closer to her mother so that she could emphasize her pale hand clutching the tail's length as it's body sat on her other hand.

"Laila!" Her mother hesitated in order to calm herself down so that her daughter would less likely throw a fit... and the scorpion. "Laila-azizety, be reasonable. How long do you think you can keep holding onto that scorpion like that?" the little girl shrugged her answer. "Precisely; Now wouldn't it be easier if you just let it back outside, that way you'd less likely risk getting hurt." The little girl looked down at what she hoped to be a new pet and sighed.

"Okay ummi. I'll let it go."

"That's better." Her mother replied. She pulled out a container from the cupboard and knelt down. "How about you put him in here and on the way to the excavation we can set him loose. That way he'll be far from other people. Agreed?"

* * *

It amazed her mother how naïve and innocent Laila was. It had been more than a year ago since her gift in reading demotic scriptures had been discovered. And despite taking on a job as a translator the child still refused to mature and gain natural human sensibility. She was still childish enough to find things like cobra, traps and scorpions as simple forms of amusement. She looked towards her daughter as she swung her legs together and tapped on the plastic container holding the scorpion. She shook her head again at her child's naivety and then turned her attention back on the road.

They soon reached the excavation site on Abydos and got out of the car. She allowed Laila to go off and find the other children as she would begin work. The first matter of business was to meet with the other archeologists and meet the patron of the dig. Once inside the tent she made her way towards her colleagues, all whom were speaking with, judging by the expensive suit, the patron. One her friends, Rihana saw her approach and smiled. "Salaam Nakuno. Keef Halk?"

"Ana bekheer, shokran." She replied with a smile. *

"Ah, hello there." The man in the suit said as he turned to greet her. Nakuno froze and gasped in shock. _Could it be? _She thought to herself. As she took a better look at the man's face though, she began to relax. "Is something the matter?" he asked.

"Oh no it's nothing. It's just that at first I thought you were someone I use to know." She replied with a giggle of embarrassment. The others looked from her to each other and nodded knowingly of the awkward situation.

"Well I suppose that it's too bad. It would have made introductions much simpler." He said with a laugh. He made a curt bow towards her and said with a smile. "Pegasus J. Crawford, a pleasure to meet you Ms…." **

"Nakuno Venesacia; and it is a pleasure to meet you as well."

"A lovely name." he commented. "Well, now that the formalities are over perhaps we can begin discussing the project..."

* Basically Rihana is asking how she's doing and Nakuno says that she's doing fine.

**In case you guys are confused, in the original Japanese version of Yugioh, Pegasus's real name was Pegasus J. Crawford. I think it sounds a lot better and more formal.

* * *

The project was a very interesting one indeed. Unlike most digs this man seemed to have little interest in things such as dates and history and the like. Instead, he appeared solely interested in the ancient country's mythology. He said that while he had lived in Egypt he had seen carvings of mythological creatures and became inspired to use those drawings as the basis for his new game that he was inventing. So the purpose of this project was to find as many carvings and descriptions of monsters as possible. Many of the archeologists found this to be rather abnormal, but never-the-less, it was a job so they made no complaint. They began to work shortly after the meeting and continued until nightfall.

For Laila the day was eventful mainly with playing games of tag and such with the other children of the archeologists. She knew that she wouldn't be much help during this project but seeing as she had no other family besides her mother in Egypt she was always with her mother when she had work to do. It was never much of a burden on either of them. While Nakuno worked Laila and the others where watched over by some of the wives of the other archeologists and they also were tutored since these projects meant that the children would be away from school. In fact, being at these digs were more like a home-away-from-home for Laila. She loved the ancient ruins with a passion and thanks to being constantly surrounded by researchers she had adopted an enjoyment of studying the ruins herself in her own time. Even that day, while the others rested in the tents, Laila had gone to an old temple on the grounds. It was one she had explored numerous times since Abydos was an area under constant study and as such, had come with her mother whenever she had work to do. This temple, above all others, had become her favorite playground for the last few years. Why it was so, was for the very reason that Pegasus J. Crawford had come to Egypt to see…

"Asim, I need your help!" A woman called to the professor, interrupting his conversation with Mr. Crawford. The man sighed and apologized to Mr. Crawford for the disruption.

"What is it Saleema?" he asked.

"It's the boys. They've started again and no matter how hard I try they refuse to stop!"

"Alright then I'll come." He paused and turned towards Mr. Crawford. "My apologizes sir. It appears that our sons and some of the other boys are causing trouble. I hope you don't mind if I…"

"Not at all professor, not at all. It's as they say, 'boys will be boys'."

So the couple and the patron went towards where the children were. Sure enough they found them all in a ring with two of the boys fighting in the middle. Asim walked straight through the crowd and grabbed the two boys in a flash by the collars of their shirts.

"Marid! Zubair! Stop this foolishness immediately!" Asim yelled.

The boys stopped thrashing and looked in fear at the man holding them.

"But baba! Marid was calling me a…"

"Zubair, enough! There will be no more of this, do you understand me?"

"Yes baba." The boy said sadly.

"Good." Asim let the boys down and they ran back to the others. As Asim went to join the adults Nakuno came running towards them.

"I heard that there was some trouble with the children. Is everything alright?"

"It's all fine Sayyida-Venesacia " Asim replied "It was just one of my boys fighting with Makin's son."

"Oh I see." She sighed with relief. "I hope neither of them were hurt?"

"Hardly." He replied curtly. Suddenly Asim felt himself being pushed aside by a small body.

"Ummi!" Laila said cheerfully as she hugged her mother's legs. "What are you doing here?" she asked

"I came over to make sure that you and the others were alright azizety. I heard that they were fighting."

"Ya, the boys were being silly and calling each other names. It was funny seeing them roll around on the ground like that." The little girl laughed. She then looked up and saw Pegasus. Both looked at each other curiously. Pegasus was curious because of the obvious differences between the parent and child, while Laila was curious because it was the first time that she ever met a man with the same coloured hair as herself.

"Hello there." Pegasus greeted the child with a smile.

"Hello." She said quietly back.

"So you're Ms. Venesacia's daughter? It's very nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too. And you must be… um…" confused, she turned to her mother. "Ummi, is he my ammu?"

All of the adults (minus Pegasus) tried, and failed to suppress their laughter. In between laughed Nakuno replied to her daughter.

"No dear, he's the man who organized this excavation. His name is Mr. Pegasus Crawford."

"But Ummi, he looks a lot like Baba." She rebutted. Pegasus raised an eyebrow at this and Nakuno sighed. Suddenly Pegasus let out a laugh.

"I see! So earlier when we met you thought that I was your husband!" Nakuno blushed and looked away in embarrassment. After this comment even Laila laughed.

"Oh Ummi, you're funny. Even I knew that he wasn't baba." She said with a grin. Nakuno sighed and the others laughed at the girl's comment.

Not long after the adults began to make their way back to their work. Laila on the other hand, intrigued by the patron, decided to follow him. "So Ammu-Pegasus, where do you come from?" she asked.

"I'm from America." He replied.

"Where's that?" she asked. He laughed at the child's adorable questions.

"It's very far from here."

"Oh, just like baba!" she exclaimed happily.

"Hmm, you're father doesn't live with you?" he asked.

"No. baba left before I was born. He's back in… I think Ummi said it's called uyrope."

"You mean Europe?" he asked.

"Oh, yep, that's it. Baba lives I Europe!" she said, satisfied. Pegasus chuckled as they continued to walk. "So Ammu-Pegasus what are looking for here in Abydos?" she asked.

"I'm looking to find inspiration for my new card game from the monsters they had in Egyptian mythology." He told her.

"You want to find monsters?" she asked wide-eyed. Pegasus laughed.

"Well, not real monsters. I just want pictures of them."

"Oh I see." The little girl replied. Suddenly her eyes lit up. "Oh, if you want pictures then you should go to the temple!" she exclaimed.

"What temple?" he asked.

"The Temple of Seti!" she said. She took his hand and started to drag him along with her. "Come on, Ammu-Pegasus, come on! Its not too far from here, you'll love it!" Confused, but interested, the young man had no choice but to follow the girl towards the temple.


	3. The Angel In The Cave

**Disclaimer: don't own yu-gi-oh (duh, if I did then I wouldn't be on a fanfic site for it now would I?" **

**Note: hey guys. I'm gonna be off for Rome tomorrow so this'll probably be the last you'll here of me until September. Oh and u guys really should watch the sub of the show, it's soooo different from the dub. I watched over ep 40 to see a bit of pegasus's character for when he was in Egypt. And ya, it blew me away with the changes the dubbers made. Okay I'm done for now. Ciao ciao, and enjoy!**

After several minutes of the little girl dragging the young man through various paths and mastabas they had finally made it to their destination; The Temple of Seti. It wasn't in the best condition, about half of the great temple was laid to ruin over the years of erosion and such, but it still remained an impressive sight. The temple of Seti was built for the Pharaoh Seti. Although his fame was belittled by the successful reign of his son, Rameses II, he had been a great king never the less. As for his temple, which the young girl had been forcefully dragging Pegasus towards; its fame came from its near-complete record of Egypt's royal line which today has been known as the 'Rosetta Stone' of archeology. Although this is the root of the temple's fame, the royal line was far from the young child's mind as she brought/dragged the white-haired stranger towards the building. "here we are, here we are!" She cried happily as she let go of his hand and ran to the pillars of the temple. She turned back towards him and waved. She then turned on her heel and began to run down the edge of the wall. She turned around and began to run backwards as she called to the man "it's over this way, come on! It won't be long now!" The man chuckled at the innocent girl's excitement and walked in her direction. His eyebrow rose as she suddenly skidded to a halt. He eyed the place where she stood and was rather confused. There wasn't anything particularly interest or unique about the spot. It was simply a part of the remnants of what use to be a wall. None of the blocks of stone held any writings or symbols to indicate anything of interest on the spot. It simply was what it was, the remains of a stone wall. He went to question the young girl of their location when she once again darted off, this time though, she ran **down**, which led the man to be even more confused, as well as now rigid with shock due to her disappearance. He ran towards the pillar that he had previously seen her go to and saw her head pop out of the ground… from under the pillar. "What are you waiting for amu? I know it's a little small but I'm sure you can fit through. I use to have to dig down a bit before I could fit too." With that she sunk down again under the pillar like a mole in a hole. Pegasus sighed and rubbed his head with the circumstance he was in, but never the less he bent down and after digging a bit into the sand, managed to push himself through the hole.

When he landed on solid ground he was quickly enveloped in darkness. He looked up to see the opening which he had just come from. It was only about five feet off of the ground but it still wasn't very useful for light. He attempted to adjust his eyes to the darkness when he heard a small grunt. He looked towards the source of the sound and could see the silhouette of the girl. "What are you doing?" he asked her. After another small grunt she panted and replied.

"I'm trying to get the mirror."

'Mirror?' he thought to himself. His thoughts were interrupted as he suddenly became blindly by a light that filled the entire passage way and beyond. He opened his eyes and looked around the hall with a look of awe. He remembered now, from his studies of the Ancient Egyptians, that they had invented a method of bringing light into buildings with the use of mirrors. Several mirrors would be placed at specific locations and angles so that by adjusting one mirror alone, the light it would reflect would make its way towards the entire series of mirrors. "Incredible" he mumbled to himself as he admired the hall. As he looked around he saw Laila jump down from the rock she was sitting on that lay just under the mirror. It was then that he realized something, how did this little girl ever got into, let alone out, of this place without injury? After all she was only a small child, and the hole was too high for her to reach. He turned towards the entrance and noted several large rocks piled up next to it. He smirked at the sight, imagining the scene when the girl had first tried to leave this place.

"Amu over here, the pictures are down this way!" the girl yelled as she turned and walked down the slanted hallway. He began to follow her as she continued to walk/ skip her way to god-knows-where. After a moment Pegasus decided to break the newly made silence.

"May I ask you something?"

"Uh-huh, what is it?"

"Why do you keep calling me amu?" the girl looked up and thought about it for a minute.

"I dunno. I think I'm not suppose to but you look like you could be my amu." She answered.

"That's… not exactly what I mean." Laila looked at him in confusion.

"What'd you mean?" she asked.

"Well, to be honest I don't even know what an 'amu' is." He said, explaining his lack of knowledge of her language. The girl gave him a strange look.

"What do you mean? amu is amu, what else could it be?" the man chuckled. He then attempted a different approach, seeing as the naïve girl didn't understand his question.

"okay, well why is it that you would call me amu and not anyone else." He asked.

"oh." she paused. "Well… I guess it's because you look so much like baba does, I've never met anyone who did. So it kind of feels like you're my amu or something" She replied. Pegasus stopped in his tracks.

"wait a minute, do you mean that you're calling me your 'uncle'!"

"what does 'uncle' mean?" she asked, not used to the English term.

"I mean do you think that I'm you're… 'baba's' brother?" he asked.

"Oh. Well I know you aren't but you look like you are." She replied happily.

"I see…" the man answered nervously. He was obviously uncomfortable with the girl's treatment towards him. She frowned when she saw the look on his face.

"Did I do something bad?" she asked.

"No no, you didn't, it's just that I find it strange that you would call me your… amu. Especially since you and I both know that we aren't related."

"Oh". The little girl said sadly. "But can I still call you amu anyways? I never got to know any of my family on baba's side." As much as it bothered him, Pegasus didn't like seeing the poor girl look so unhappy. So he sighed and put on a smile.

"Of course you can." He said. Little girl perked up and gave him a hug.

"Thank you Amu Pegasus!" she cried happily. Pegasus laughed and ruffled her hair.

"Your welcome." He replied. He suddenly realized something and turned back to the girl and laughed. "You know, it's kind of strange for you to act like my niece when I don't even know your name." She looked up at him and laughed along with him.

"I guess your right Amu." She said. "I'm Laila. How come you didn't ask earlier?"

"I suppose it slipped my mind when we…. Oh my, i just remembered, shouldn't we continue towards the monster carvings?" Laila nodded in reply and she began to walk down the hall while holding her 'uncle's' hand.

They continued through several passage ways, walking farther and farther into the labyrinth. The whole trip was mind boggling to the young man's mind as the young girlchattered away complete care free as she led him down the halls without hesitation. As they wandered she had told him of how she had stumbled upon the cavern two years ago when her mother's team had been working on a site at the temple. She spent hours exploring the place and even drew a map so that she'd never get lost. Of course by now she had clearly memorized the entire place seeing as she never once took out her map during this tour. Later when he inquired her as to why she had never told anyone about the place, she replied that it was because of the monsters here. They felt 'real' to her (as she described it) and felt that if she showed them to the archeologists then they would 'hurt' them while trying to remove the carvings from the walls. Suddenly in the midst's of their conversation the young girl, with a wide grin burst into to a run down the hall and turned down what looked to be a flight of stairs. He followed her down at a jogged pace until he reach the bottom of the flight, where he stood shock still in awe and amazement.

The place was dazzling. Every portion of the walls, ceiling and floor were covered with tablets. And each tablet contained the drawing of a monster, and no two carvings were alike. Pegasus's eye gleam in triumph as he admired the rooms' treasures. "_This…" _he thought _"this_ _is it. They're just as I had seen in that underground temple…" _he shuddered momentarily at the memory. But still, the adrenaline of his excitement kept him from dwelling on the painful experience. After all, the gods had just granted him the key to his dream.

"Isn't it great?" Laila asked while spinning gleefully.

"Yes. It's incredible." He replied while observing the monsters along the wall.

"Oh Amu come over here!" she cried from across the room. "These ones are really neat." Pegasus walked over to her and mentally agreed with the girl's statement. These monsters were definitely much more fearsome-looking. Even his left eye pulsed by their presence; he could tell that they were also much more powerful. He had to keep his eye in check as it began to quiver out of control. He held onto it to calm it down. As it did he looked for the cause; and then he saw it. On his left he saw two tablets side by side. One was a man in strange attire and in his hand he held a staff.

'_Perhaps some sort of magician.' _He thought to himself. He then noted the other carving. It was a dragon; a very large and fierce looking one at that. It seemed almost too big for the tablet; ready to break out of its stone cage at a moments notice. As Pegasus admired the carving he began to chuckle silently. _'I suppose that's what she meant when she said that they seemed alive.'_

"You like her? That's Kisara." The girl said with a smile. "She's my favorite."

"Kisara?" he asked.

"Yep. I named a lot of them." She pointed to the magician. "That one's Mahad. That one," she said turning towards a female magician "is Mana. Oh, and over there," she said, referring to a two headed jackal "is Shada." Pegasus' eye went wide at this while the little girl, unaware of the man's shock, continued to name off various monsters. After she was done she sat on the ground. "so do you like them?" she asked.

"…yes" he replied. "They're all very lovely. But may I ask you something?"

"Okay." She replied.

"Why did you give… all of them those names?" he asked.

"Oh, well… I dunno, they just seem to fit."

"I see." The man replied, slightly disappointed with the answer. "so… you said that this one is your favourite?" he asked, pointing to the dragon.

"ya. She's pretty and she's also nice."

Pegasus laughed. "How can you tell? After all it's just a carving."

"I know." the girl replied with a sigh. "But at least Kisara's nice to me in my dreams."

"Hmm" he raised his eyebrow "in your dreams?"

"Yep. She protects me from all the nightmares that try to scare me. She's my guardian angel." She said with a grin. Pegasus laughed again.

"She doesn't seem much like an angel to me." he commented.

"That's just because she's a dragon. But still, she seems like an angel. You should see her when she comes! She spreads her wings and roars and her scales shine like it's made of a whole bunch of mirrors!" the girl said excitedly as she waved her arms around to imitate the creature. Pegasus smiled at the sight. Not solely because of the girls attitude, but because he _could_ see the dragon like that. His millennium eye glowed as he was able to peer into the girl's thoughts, revealing to him the grand creature her imagination had produced from seeing the stone carving, along with images of the other creatures, free of their stone cages and full of life. After some time Pegasus turned towards the girl and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Laila, I think perhaps we should be heading back towards the site. I'm sure that your mother would be worried." The little girl looked sad but then nodded.

"Alright. We'll go."

"That's a good girl." He replied. They made their way back through the maze and crawled out of the entrance. The sun was already setting, showing that they spent a great amount of time in the cavern. Not long after they were at the outskirts of the camp. Before they went down Pegasus turned to the young girl. "Laila, I'd like to thank you once again for showing me that room. It was truly spectacular."

"Your welcome; It was nice to show it to someone." She replied. He began to walk down to the site when he heard the girl speak. "Um… Amu Pegasus?" he turned back to the girl to see her looking down and kicking the sand in a shy manner. "Are you going to tell the others about it?" he paused for a moment and then replied.

"Well of course. After all I came here to find carvings like that. It's only natural that a bring a team there to get them for my designs." The little girl looked up at him and looked as if she were about to cry.

"Oh Amu Pegasus please don't. I don't want them to hurt them!" now she began to sob. Pegasus fidgeted, uncomfortable with the girl's tears.

"Now, now Laila don't worry." He said, trying to calm her down. Then he got an idea. "Ok, how about this? What if I make sure that they won't hurt them? I'll tell them just to take a few pictures and sketches, that's all. After all it's not like I'm going to bring an entire room full of tablets home with me to America." He finished with a chuckle. She looked back at him and dried her tears.

"Do you mean it?"

"Of course I do little one." He gave a reassuring smile which the little girl returned with a grin as she hugged Pegasus's knees.

"Thank you so much Amu! Now I'm really happy that I showed them to you." with that, the little ball of joy began running down the hill towards the camp. Before she was all the way there she turned and waved back at Pegasus "Goodnight Amu!" she called.

"Good night!" he called back. Laila then turned back and ran towards the camp where her mother was waiting for her.

Pegasus was 17 when Cynthia died. He met her 14 years ago. For some odd reason wiki say's that he's 24 years old. He studied in Egypt for a year. He followed Shadi into a building in the city. Holy shit, tell people to watch this episode (40) subbed, you see the blood and everything!!!! Not to mention the thing with shadi is soooo different!!

Ad Dayr al Bahri is where to find the other temple of Seti, mountains right next to it!!!

Creepy co-incidence? Right after my story is another that sounds pretty similar in certain points.

Pen name

WhiteDragonWarrior

Draconic Warrior

Story Name

White Dragon of the Desert Moon

Fate's Hand, The Lord and Lady of the White Dragon

Chapter one name

The Mysterious Night Child

The Mysterious Blue-eyed Girl

The stories themselves are completely different. But still, it's really creepy.


	4. The Dragon, the Card & the Man in Robes

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh (if I did there'd have been no GX or 5D) and I don't own the majority of these characters. Also a couple scenes in here actually happened in the show, they're scenes from episode 85. if you don't know what episode this is then don't watch it until AFTER you read this or else it'll ruin the suspense.

"Amu Pegasus you've come back!"

The room was put into a fit of laughter at the sight as the young child jumped up and hugged the American patron.

"Of course I've come back Laila. Didn't I tell you that I would come back several times to continue my project?" the young man asked.

"Oh… oops Sorry Amu-Pegasus, I forgot." the little girl said with a blush of embarrassment. Pegasus laughed and ruffled the child's hair.

"It'll alright dear. No need to feel bad about it." the little girl smiled broadly at him for his forgiveness.

It had only been about 3 weeks since their first meeting at the excavation at Abydos. Back then it took several days for the team to photograph the tablets as well as explore the rest of the hidden tunnels. And upon his return to America, Pegasus J. Crawford spent endless hours working on his new card game which he had decided to call 'Duel Monsters'; for obvious reasons. However, due to the lack of sufficient inspiration for an entire card game system, Pegasus aspired to come back to Egypt several more times in order to find more ancient tablets for his dream to become a reality.

They were now in the Valley of the Kings; the burial site of 500 years worth of pharaohs that reigned during the era of the New Kingdom's 18th to 20th dynasties. It was here that Pegasus hoped to find a great majority of inspiration for his new game. With 62 known burial sites scattered among the conjoining valleys there was surely to be enough to be found to be used in the name of his aspiration. The weeks went by as the workers toiled under the Egyptian sun. Much progress was gained through the project. Dozens upon dozens of mythological creatures were recorded and photographed, and these files were then prepared for the soon-to-be journey back to America.

The downfall of Pegasus's ambition was that the Egyptian government had little patience and lenience towards the project. It served no archeological means and certainly was not worth much financially for them; so they only allowed him minimal amounts of time for his team to explore the valley's treasures. After a short, but fruitful 3 and a half weeks, the team packed up their tools and findings in preparation for their contracts' closure. The archeologists and other laborers had no quarrel with the ending of the dig; however, there was one person who openly expressed distaste over the fact.

"Why does everything have to stop now? It's so unfair Amu-Pegasus!" little Laila complained with a pout.

"It can't be helped Laila-Jun, the law does not permit me much time to explore the valley." Pegasus replied with a sigh.

"But Amu…" the child protested "it's still not fair that everything has to stop now."

Pegasus chuckled "You care so much for these expeditions don't you Laila?"

"Well, not really." She began to kick the sand "Things have been kinda boring at the digs."

"Oh? Then why is it that you're so upset my little niece?" he asked with curiosity.

"Because," she mumbled "if the dig stops then you have to go home, Amu."

"Oh, so _that's _why you're upset?" he asked. The little nodded her head as she stared at the ground. "Laila, you know that I'd have to go sooner or later. It can't be helped. Besides, it's not like I'll never come back, I'm going to come back plenty of times, you know that."

"I know Amu, I know." She replied sadly. "But I'm gonna miss you Amu-Pegasus." She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him as strong as she could. He chuckled and ruffled her hair.

"And I'll miss you too my little dragon-angel." He hugged her back for a moment and then straightened up in surprise. "Oh my, I just realized that I had completely forgotten something." Laila let go of him and stared at him curiously as he fished into one of his pockets and pulled out a small rectangular box.

"What is it Amu?" Laila asked.

"It's a present for you. I made it when I went back to America." He explained. She took it gingerly from his hand and examined the case. It was thin, black and rather small, it only just-fit into her hand. She then opened the lid and peered inside. Pegasus could see the gleam in her eyes as she beheld his gift for her. It was far greater then she could ever guess. Inside the box lay her precious guardian angel, Kisara. Its' blue eye shown a deep ocean colour while its' sliver scales glistened in the light. Her power, her grace, her beauty, her majesty, it was just as Laila imagined her.

"Oh Amu, she's beautiful! Thank you so much!" she exclaimed as she hugged him hard.

8 months had passed along with many digs throughout Egypt's vast landscape. Half a dozen projects under Pegasus Crawford's patronage were accomplished over the period of time. Pegasus had released his first of many Duel Monsters card packs 4 months ago, and immediately gained revenue for its upstart in popularity. Finally, his dream had been realized by the creation of the game. However, there was something about the game missing, something crucial, 3 monsters he had seen back when he first 'received' the millennium eye, and he was determined to get them.

"Why can't we find them?" Pegasus cried out as he slammed the map of the valley on the table. "I have to have them. The Duel Monsters game will be incomplete without them!" For weeks they searched for the cards and yet they came with fruitless results. Not a stone was left unturned and yet the cards were nowhere to be found; and with the deadline to his excavation contract drawing near the situation seemed hopeless. Pegasus sighed in frustration as he realized his predicament. He felt very close to accepting the pitiful results of the situation and would in fact had done if he hadn't become distracted with the sound of footsteps drawing near. He turned towards the new arrival, but upon seeing the man's face he stepped back in shock.

"It's you, Shadi!" It was him, the very man who influenced his obsession with Duel Monsters. The same man who imbedded the millennium eye onto his face.

"The three god carvings are under the guardianship of the tomb keepers. You will not be able to find them no matter how hard you try."

"No, it can't be true! I must have them!"

"With my power I can show you those stones." The mysterious man informed Pegasus. In delight Pegasus ran over to Shadi.

"Really? Please! Show me those stones." He begged of him.

As Pegasus prepared for the exploration into the tomb keepers hideout Shadi took the opportunity to observe the excavation going on at the current site. He wandered through the site for some time but stopped when he noticed a peculiar white form huddled between some piles of crates. He walked over, curious to see what precisely the white figure was. It appeared to be a small child. It amused him slightly for it is a rarity to see such a fair-skinned child in Egypt. He continued to walk over to see why the child was hiding. She seemed to be playing with something, a card of some sort. Once behind the child he stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes widened when he saw the card in the child's hand. It was the White Dragon he had heard of from the scriptures. It was said to be strong enough to challenge the three gods themselves with great potential of success. In fact, the White Dragon was even said to be the goddess of light herself.

Upon hearing footsteps behind her Laila turned to see who it was. she didn't recognize the man but decided to be friendly none-the-less. "Hello there mister" she greeted him with a kind smile. Shadi was slightly taken aback, unsure of exactly how to respond. In all honesty it was doubtful that he was ever going to speak with the child at all in the first place.

"May I inquire as to what you are doing?" he asked. It wasn't the best way to respond to a greeting. It was the first thing that he could think of.

"I'm playing." The child answered.

"With that card?" the child nodded in response. "And where did you gain such a card?"

"Well, my Amu-Pegasus gave it to me a while ago."

"Pegasus gave you the card?"

"Yup, that's right. She was a present to me." It perhaps should not have been a great surprise. He had been informed some time ago of Pegasus's new 'children's card game' that was in fact based on the monsters of the ancient games; But still…

"I'm curious, why would Pegasus give you _that_ card instead of another creature?"

"Oh, well that's easy. It's because Kisara's my guardian angel. Amu knew about her too so he made her into a card for me. Now I can have my angel wherever I go."

Shadi's eyes hardened. _"Kisara…?"_ he thought to himself. He knew the name from the scriptures along with the White Dragon. It was from _her_ that the White Dragon, the goddess of light, came into being for it was in fact her Ka, her soul. _"But why and how on earth could the child have known of that name...?"_ He froze in realization "no, it can't be… can it?" he glanced once more at the child who was watching him in fear by his reactions. _"Perhaps I should make sure."_ He thought to himself. He bent down to the child's level and grasped the key around his neck.

"What are you doing?" Laila asked in fear.

Shadi made no reply as he pointed the key onto her temple. He turned the object and was immediately blinded by a vast white light. Once his eyes adjusted he observed his surroundings. He was within the child's soul room. A soul room is a place that can be seen only with the use of the Millennium key, and each room is designed to represent the soul of the being itself. Laila's room was smaller than most by appearance and hardly consisted of much. The ceiling was in fact a clear blue sky with clouds, a symbol of innocent imagination. The walls were pure white adorned with several hieroglyphics, the walls of her life show that she is surrounded by purity and structured with the lives of the ancients. Perhaps she has spent so much of her life around the ruins that the Ancient Egyptians are in fact one of the greatest influences upon her life.

He then looked at the rooms contents. There were some toys, symbols of a fun-loving character. A small bed lay in the corner, a comforting lifestyle. Upon a small table lay some pictures, the largest being an Egyptian woman with her arms around the child; her mother perhaps? It definitely shows that this woman is the greatest influence in her life. The other pictures consisted of a group photo with many children along with some archeologists. Another one, slightly larger was with Pegasus Crawford. She _had_ called him her uncle, did she not? So it was explainable that he had influence on the child as well.

This picture then reminded him of his purpose. He turned around and looked over the room again; and there, on the opposite wall lay a small rectangular shape. Sure enough, it was the White Dragon card. "But it is only in this card form" he thought to himself "surely it could not have so much of an influence to be the child's soul itself." He walked over to the card and placed his hand on it. It was considered immoral to rearrange the room of a person's soul for it would change the personality of the person himself. He knew this but still felt compelled to see the result of the change. He grasped the card from its place on the wall. Suddenly he felt the ground shake beneath him and the wall began to crack from where the card had once been.

"What on earth is happening?!" he asked himself in alarm. "No room ever faces such a great tremor from an object being moved." Shadi tried to regain his balance but lost it again at the sound of a great beast-like roar. He looked up in shock; the sound came from the hole where the card once was. he looked beyond the hole and saw that there was more to the room beyond the wall. And beyond the, much to Shadi's fear and amazement stood the White Dragon, the great goddess itself; and it was trying to push its way into the room. Now he understood the purpose of the small card; it was to prevent the true beast access into the child's innocent conscience. He knew that he had only one option, and so with all his strength he pushed the card back into place and used his magic to try and repair the damaged wall.

It was then that the child fell unconscious to the ground. Once he sealed the beast he released the child from the hold of the millennium key. The incident must have cost a great distress on the child mind and could not stay conscious for much time afterwards. Shadi himself felt the affair take its toll from the great amount of energy he had lost from sealing the beast. He looked at the child's sleeping form as well as the card in her palm. "So strange…" he thought to himself. "It seems as if this one card is keeping the child's humanity in check. Imagine what would happen if it became lost?" he shuddered at the thought of the goddess's great power raging through the walls of the tiny room in the child's soul.

He frowned as he thought, for there was another fear on his conscience; although he managed to reseal the beast, the walls weren't fully restored to there original form. He had undoubtedly altered the child's personality, even if by a fraction, thanks to the fracture. It also means that the barrier between the girl and the dragon has weakened. _"It perhaps wouldn't cause too much trouble, but if this child faces any sort of great trauma, anything great enough to shake the walls of her very being… who knows what could happen?"_

"There you are Shadi!" a shout came from behind him. Shadi turned to see Pegasus coming over to him with four other archeologists. Shadi paused when he noticed the woman with them. It was the woman from the child's picture. The group stopped when they noticed the sleeping girl next to the crates.

"Laila!" the woman shouted as she ran over to the girl. She picked the child up in her arms and turned to Shadi. "What happened to her?" she asked him accusingly.

"I was talking to her for some time but after some time she had passed out." He replied. It wasn't the exact truth but he didn't want to deal with any confrontation with the woman.

She gave Shadi a questioning glare as she hugged her daughter closer to her. She then turned over to Pegasus and the group "if you'll excuse me gentlemen, I need to go home to make sure my daughter isn't sick."

"Not a problem Nakuno." Pegasus replied with a smile. "Making sure she's alright is naturally your top priority."

"Thank you Mr. Crawford." She said and then walked away from the group.

"Wait a minute Nakuno, I'll come with you," replied one of the other archeologists. "You hold onto Laila and I'll drive you two home."

"Oh, thank you Arthur." She replied.

The two of them walked off towards the jeeps leaving Pegasus behind with Shadi and the other two archeologists. "Well then," he started to break the silence. "I suppose we should go then, shall we?"

Shadi led them far off from the dig, onto the ruins of an old temple. It was so weathered that the only parts which remained were the floor and a few pillars. They walked on until Shadi stopped in front of what appeared to be a well. From there he instructed that they descend the well, for it was the entrance to the lair of the tomb keepers.

Once they reached the bottom of the well they walked on. "It's amazing, there's a whole city under here." Pegasus thought to himself as they walk along a grand hallway. They continued for sometime when suddenly Shadi stopped in his tracks. Pegasus along with two of his colleagues who joined them looked to see what was wrong. They observed that there was a shadow being cast from the next corner. "Oh no!" Pegasus said with a whisper "There's someone there." Although worried of their predicament, the others were more surprised by what came next. Shadi placed his hands on the key around his neck and suddenly the men felt a strange, dark force as the hallway became enveloped in shadow. Shadi continued the trek and the others, quite fearfully, followed him. However, as they passed the men standing around the corner the men didn't even flinch. "What on earth?" Pegasus thought out loud.

"They can not see us." Shadi stated matter-of-factly and he walked on.

"Unbelievable!" Pegasus exclaimed before he continued with the others.

Much time passed as they continued. They walked through the countless hallways until finally, they arrived in front of a great door over 30 feet high.

"It's here" Shadi stated.

"Yes!" Pegasus thought to himself "Now the gate of history is going to be opened. The three god cards wake up now! Revive!" (Don't ask me, this is what he actually said in the Japanese version.)

Suddenly the great door rose up into the ceiling, giving entrance to what laid beyond. Pegasus walked into the room and waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. Once his eyes settled on the darkness they immediately settled on something much more profound, a large stone tablet set on the other side of the room; and upon the top of the tablet lay three large carvings of monsters. Not just any monsters, the god cards. In excitement Pegasus ran towards the tablet. "Jesus!" he cried out "Finally I've found the three god cards. Oh great! Now my card game will be complete!"

There was great commotion with the news of the god carvings being discovered. Everyone was running to and fro between groups relaying the news of the event. Even Nakuno and her friend Professor Arthur Hawkins heard of the news while they were caring for Laila at her home. Some of the excavators had called the house and insisted that Nakuno must come back to the site immediately. She had initially refused and insisted that she couldn't go back at the moment, but Arthur insured her that he'd make sure that Laila would be fine and promised that he'd called her if anything happened.

Once she left, Arthur went back upstairs to see that Laila had finally woken up. She was sitting up on her bed and staring sadly at her Blue Eyes White Dragon card. "oh, you're awake Laila?" he asked. The little girl looked up at him.

"Hmm? Oh hello there Mr. Hawkins. Where's Ummi?"

"She went back to the site. There was a great discovery that happened! Mr. Crawford had found the god cards, isn't that exciting?" the little girl nodded with a small smile the glanced back at her card.

"Laila…" Arthur began with a serious tone "what exactly happened earlier? That man had said that you just passed out while talking to him."

"The man with the key?" she asked. Arthur nodded. "Well…" she tried to remember the occurrence. "We did talk; he wanted to know where I got my card. After that he bent down, and then… I'm not really sure what happened after actually." She really couldn't remember no matter how hard she tried. All that she knew though, was that the man didn't like her having Kisara, and it made her worry about what the man would do if he saw her with it again.

"Well it's alright now dear. You're safe at home." the man said while trying to soothe her. It was obvious that she was distressed over the matter and so he tried to change the subject a bit.

"So… you really like that card don't you?" he asked.

She nodded in reply. "I like it very much. It reminds me of my Kisara." Arthur smiled at the comment. He had heard about her 'angel' some time ago and she had shown him the card right after Pegasus had given it to her. "…but I don't think I should have her anymore."

The comment stopped his train of thought. She loved the card. She had it with her wherever she went. It was natural for children to lose interest in their toys, but something about this really didn't feel right; 'she _shouldn't_ have the card'? "Now why would you say that, Laila?"

She shrugged. "I just don't think I should." She replied simply. She felt bad for saying it but she felt compelled to do so. After all, the way that strange man had react when he asked about the card… she was worried of what exactly would happen if they met again, if he saw that card again. "_Maybe he thinks that I don't deserve her"_. Well, maybe the man was right, maybe she didn't need the card. "You should have her Mr. Hawkins." She said with a smile.

"What? Oh no, I shouldn't. It's yours, you should keep it."

"That's alright Mr. Hawkins. You take her, she'll protect you."

"Hmm, protect me?"

"Yup, she's an angel so she can protect you. After all, you have a lot to be worried about at digs, but I don't have anything to worry about, I hardly ever get myself into trouble anymore so I don't think that I'll need her anymore." She insisted as she handed the card to him.

He reluctantly took it and thanked her for the gift. He told her to go back to sleep while he called her mom to let her know Laila's current condition. She laid back down on the bed and let a tear roll down her cheek. She didn't want to give away her Amu's gift but she still felt a bit relieved. Now without the card she wouldn't have to worry about that strange man anymore. Everything was going to be alright now, even if she no longer had her angel around her. _"It's okay,"_ she thought to herself _"I'm sure that I'll be just fine without her"._

A week had passed and now Pegasus was back in America. He was in the middle of a meeting with one of his employees when he stood up in shock at the man's last statement "What do you mean 'Everyone who was working on the god card project has died off one by one'?!"


	5. Crashing Rocks

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-gi-oh. Enough said. And seeing as none of the next few chapter has anything to do with the show/manga, what do I care? **

Crashing rocks

That's all she could really recall; the sound of rocks crashing from a great height. And there was dust too. Yes, she remembered seeing dust floating up from where the rocks landed. And there were people; people running and screaming when the rocks fell. The ground had rumbled from the shock… and it shook her to the core.

It happened a week ago. Or was it two weeks ago? It was so hard to remember. So hard, so terrible to remember; and yet she couldn't forget it. She couldn't forget how she cringed when the rocks fell, how her eyes widened at the dust that floated from the rocks, and how when everyone was in a panic, she too ran and screamed; she screamed and cried out a word which now, she could barely even bring herself to whisper.

"_Ummi." _

Couldn't she have done something back then? Couldn't she have saved her? When those birds landed at her feet near the tent, why didn't she call her mother to show them to her? If she did, her mother would have left the tomb she was digging in. Her mother would have gone to see her; and she wouldn't have been in the cave when it collapsed. _Why? Why? Why?_ …That's all that she could do now, just ask herself _'Why!?'_

Yes, yes, she could only ask herself that question now; because now she was all alone. There was no one left to hug in the mornings, no one to talk to when she got back from school, no one there to kiss her goodnight. She had no one at all. There _had _been people she could talk to just after the rocks crashed. There were people who would talk to her, stroke her hair, tried to soothe her sobs and dry her tears. Although she wasn't happy, it had made her feel better… until _they_ showed up.

The people from the orphanage had arrived two days after Nakuno had died. Family friends had tried to argue against them, but they were powerless against Egyptian law. Adoption is illegal in the country and only children under 5 can have foster parents. This brilliant scheme is suppose to allow kids to 'maintain their parentage' since they won't have 'fake parents' to disrupt their heritage. So, unless Laila's remaining family was willing to take her in, she would be trapped in an orphanage until she became or age and/or married. Unfortunately, it seemed that she was guaranteed to spend her remaining childhood in an orphanage. Her only family lay across the sea in Europe. And let's face it; her father's family probably doesn't even know that she exists. Even if they did, chances were that her father wouldn't take her in. If he was willing to leave his pregnant wife within a year of their marriage then what were the odds that he'd take on responsibility of his and his divorcée's child? Despite this, the people from the orphanage continually assured everyone that they would try and reach her father and get him to take her in; however it seemed that they said so as more of an attempt to be rid of a foreign-bred child than an actual act of altruism. Either way, the men granted the crying Laila one last night in her beloved home. After which, she would move into the orphanage while the adults worked out all of the legal issues.

…Maybe she should have done as she was told. It was, by law, the right thing to do. Just pack up some memorable objects and go off to live with other orphans or her father, depending on his answer. It certainly wouldn't make much sense for a child to pack only life-needed supplies and run off in the dead of night. After all, you'd have to be out of your right mind to try something as crazy as that. And yet there she was, an eleven year old girl with nothing but a backpack and a small blanket, running out of the city and into the desert.

I suppose we're at the present now, some countless days later. It's so strange how things had turned out. It wasn't… so bad, that is, if you can consider living in the desert completely alone with nothing but a name and backpack of dwindling supplies as an alright situation. Somehow she was managing to stay alive. She was always walking along the Nile so she didn't have to worry too much about loosing her water supply; and she sometimes found fruit trees nearby so she wasn't too worried about going hungry. Although, she made sure that no one saw her stealing anything. If she was caught then she'd be sent to the police, whom no doubt might have a 'missing persons' page with her picture on it, and would be sent off to an orphanage. So she had to keep safe whenever people were around, it was the only way to stay free from the people trying to lock her in an orphanage.


	6. An Eye for an Eye, A Life for a Fig

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-gi-oh.**

~One Month Later~

"Why you little thief!" the man yelled as he yanked at her pale hair. The girl shrieked as he pulled her from the tree by her hair. "You think you can get away with my figs? You brat! I'll make you pay for ruining my trees with your filthy hands!" He began to drag her across the rocks as he walked towards his home. He threw her against the outer wall and walked into the house while she crumpled to the ground in tears. She didn't hear him come towards the tree while she feasted on the figs; she was too distracted by having her first meal in four days to notice anyone around her. Now it was too late to hide. While she lay crying the man came back outside. "Hmph." The man snorted as he observed the pitiful child. "What an eyesore. What are you, some kind of albino?" he laughed as he kicked her side. She yelped and curled into a ball. "You must be pretty desperate, a poor albino brat wandering through people's gardens and stealing their hard-worked-for food. Well don't worry; I'll be nice enough to put you out of your misery." Laila looked at him wide-eyed only to see the glint of a blade in his hand.

"No. oh please no. I'm sorry I stole from you mister, just please let me go! I won't steal from you again, I promise! Just let me go! Please!" she begged.

"Let you go, so that you can steal from someone else? No, I'd rather not. You know, it was considered proper in the old days for thieves to have one of their hands chopped off as punishment for their crimes. But I figure that an abomination like you is better off dead anyways. It's not like anyone would care if some orphaned albino was dead anyways, right?" He threw her to the ground and knocked the wind out of her, preventing her from screaming. The man grabbed her by the collar and trailed the knife up her body and she whimpered and begged for release. As it drew closer to her neck she started to kick wildly at the man. One kick, to her fortune, landed straight onto the man's groin, which caused him to immediately release her and the blade as he doubled-over in pain. She took the moment to her advantage without hesitation. She grabbed to knife to keep it from the man, and ran as fast as she could from the scene.


	7. The Simple Things: Kebab and Footsteps

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-gi-oh. Also, while writing this chapter it took... a really interesting turn. The squeamish might have to avoid much of the next couple of chapters.**

* * *

~Seven Months Later~

If there was one thing Laila had learn for sure, it was that being in the desert was a very dangerous place to be during the day, but it was even more dangerous to be in the city at night. It wasn't a bright idea to go into the city now that the sun had gone down, but the other day she found a handful of coins and felt like having a proper meal, the first since before her mother died. You'd think that after living 8 months in the desert one would develop enough as a hermit to enjoy solely the solitude. But there is something else, something that lays deep in memories and hearts of people, ones that remind them of how they had enjoyed meals in public, memories of talk and laughter spent with another while eating a nice, warm, meal. Those kinds of memories can completely alter your initial ideals in order to try and fulfill your longings of society. They can convince you that living to these dreams are worth it, even if it means doing something stupid to get it. Doing something stupid, like wandering in an unknown city in the middle of the night at the age of twelve.

She heard footsteps behind her but didn't turn around. She just kept her eyes peeled for a restaurant of any sort. A lot of places were closing down so she had to go for quite a while. For most of that time the footsteps never ended their rhythm. She tried to ignore them; once she found a place to eat the footsteps would go away. She finally smelled some food; there was a kebab stand down the road. She ran towards it in joy and stared at the roasting kebab with hungry eyes.

"What'll it be, kid?" the stall-man asked her while he turned the meat. Laila continued to stare at the cooked beef. "Hey kid, if you aren't going to order anything then beat it!" That line brought her back to reality. She looked over the menu… but couldn't really think of what to get; she just wanted anything, anything to eat at all. She decided to get the cheapest thing on the menu, but when she opened her mouth the words wouldn't come out. Then it struck her. She's barely spoken in months and now she was becoming mute. Despite her worried expression the man just huffed at her. "Damn foreigners, I ain't gonna wait forever kid, if you can't speak Arabic then you might as well go back wherever you came from." Laila looked down, ashamed. It happened every time she went to a city. People would constantly insult her for her looks, but she never said anything and ran off from them so as the stay safe from getting hurt. But she wasn't going to run this time, not when she was this close to real, cooked food. She pulled the money from her pocket and took out just enough for what she wanted. Luckily the man got the idea and gave her a kebab wrapped in a pita.

"Shu… shukran sayyidi." She whispered timidly. He laughed as he took the money from her hand and turned to the next customer. She took a bite out of the sandwich and, with a rare smile, walked from the stand. Oh, how long it had been since she had such a delectable supper! It was like a symphony to her taste buds as the flavor rushed over her tongue. It was practically unbearable, feeling the sensation of cooked meat in her mouth. She decided to sit down to finish her blissful meal. She wanted to take her time to enjoy the flavor but her pleading stomach encouraged her to finish it quickly, so halfway through she wolfed down what remained of the kebab. She sighed happily and stretched once her meal was done. At that moment she was in a wondrous ecstasy. It was without a doubt, with a full stomach and a savory flavor still in her mouth she felt as though she was in paradise and was far too happy to notice that the footsteps had gotten closer.

Before she knew it her mouth was being clamped and she was snatched up from her place on the step and being carried down the alley. She started to kick wildly but her legs hit nothing but air. And her screams were being muffled by the person's hand. Despite this she still tried her best to free herself from her captor. Laila tried to look around, to try and find someone that would help her; but sadly they were in a dark alley with no one else in sight. After some time the kidnapper ran through a door and turned down a flight of stairs. Once at the bottom Laila was tossed into the air and collided into a stone wall. The room was smothered by the sound of whimpers and tears as the man locked the room. And once Laila opened her eyes she realized that the whimpers were not only her own. All around the room there was toddlers, children and some teens all huddled together in different cages. Laila was terrified with what she saw around her. The man started walking towards her and she tried to back away, only to remember that she was against a wall.

"What's the matter little one? Don't be frightened, I'm here to help." The man said with a mocking smile. "I mean, I just saw you there all alone on the street and I thought 'Poor little girl. She's out all alone, maybe I should help her.' And now here I've brought you, to a place with food, water and shelter, what more could a kid off the streets ask for?" Now he was right in front of her. "And better yet, I give orphans like you a great opportunity." He stated. Although she continued to glare at him, her expression wavered to curiosity, encouraging the man to continue. "Yes, that's right little girl. You see, this place is kind of like an orphanage in itself; only, it's more like a foreign orphanage. I'm sure _you_ know what I mean right?" she shook her head. "Well, what I mean is that I get people who come here interested in _adopting _you kiddies. Oh yes, they just _love_ having children in their homes. They spend countless hours _playing_ and _having fun_ with the kiddies that they take in. Of course, I don't bother with all of those silly regulations and background checks, that way you can be with your, shall we say, _new parents_, as soon as possible. Now doesn't that sound wonderful?" Laila didn't answer him and instead shook in fear of the man. She could see through her hair the other children also shaking and crying. "Hmm, you don't think its wonderful little girl?" he sneered. She finally shook her head at him.

She didn't, couldn't trust this man. She remembered the last time she was in this bad of a situation with the man who had the fig tree. That man hurt her out of anger, a reasonable anger, seeing as she had stolen from him. But this man, no, this man took her for no real reason. She didn't understand completely what he was intending to have happen to her; but one thing she understood for sure, this man was _enjoying_ the pain he was causing these children. He must've enjoyed their pain, their tears, their fears, and he certainly showed no remorse for their suffering. "You _don't_?" he exclaimed with feigned sorrow. "But it really is wonderful!" he stated. "You get to have a new family, some new playmates, and, my, such a wondrous little thing you are!" The man then started running his fingers through her hair. "Oh yes, what an interesting little creature you are. Such light hair, and that pale skin, and those eyes!" Her fist began to clench. "Oh yes, a pretty little thing like you is certainly going to make me quite a lot of money-yow!" he man shot back as Laila gave his hand a hard bite.

"Why you little, you little BITCH!" he kicked her in the face, causing her mouth to start bleeding. The children around the room started to squeal in terror. "SHUT UP YOU LITTLE BRATS!" he screamed. He started to kick and rattle the cages. "You all got something to say?" he then pulled out a large rod. "If you do, then by all means why don't you share?" they started to muffle their cries. "Nothing? No? Well then, just _keep quite_ and let me deal with our little albino freak here. And, if you _stay_ quite then I'll give you food tomorrow, got a deal?" they stayed still. "Good. So now," he turned to Laila who was spiting out the blood in her mouth. "What to do about you? I was going to go easy on you for your first couple of days, but since you decided to show me such disrespect, well, I can't let you off just like that, now can I?" he started walking towards her again. Laila tried to get up to run, but before she could get to her feet the man whipped the rod against her stomach. The shooting pain caused her to fall to her knees as she gasped for air. "did you like that kiddy? Well how about another?" He slammed it down onto her back, pushing her to lie on the floor. Laila coughed and withered in pain. "How about now?" He hit her again. "And now?" another landed on her head, causing it to bleed. "NOW?" He began to beat her relentlessly, one blow after another as she lay on the ground crying in pain. The endless agony, it was becoming far too much to bear. She begged for it to stop but no one, not a single person tried to help her. There was no one to help, no one but herself to beg for mercy.

"STOP IT, STOP IT PLEASE!!!"


	8. Ghost in the Shell

The room was dark, just like it always was. It was cold right now, meaning that it was daytime; at night it was practically frigid. Next to the scurry of mice and rats there was no other sign of life in the room besides the trapped children. And the only sounds that could be heard were the occasional conversations between them. They spoke very quiet and not very often. They spoke of lost families, long lost friends and memories of happier times. They never spoke when the man came. They knew not to, for if he were in a bad mood he would punish them. They wouldn't dare do anything to defy the man that referred to himself as 'The Master'. There was one exception though. There was one girl who, although she never talked, she still found ways to defy the Master. But she didn't count. Well, not to the eyes of the other children. She wasn't one of them. From her first day there she had angered the Master enough for him to have her chained against the wall, not in cages like the others. And she remained there still. They never spoke to her either, for the Master forbade them to speak to her. If they were caught, none of them would get the next meal, and they wouldn't risk that. She wasn't fed as often as them either. That was another punishment by the Master's orders.

There had been those, some recalled, who had also defied the Master; but unlike them he kept her alive. Children that defied him usually never lived passed the next week, but she was different. It was strange, Master would throw fits at the child's defiance, and yet, he spoke so highly of how different she was. He spoke in an eerily happy tone of how fair her skin was, and how her hair shined, even in the dark room; and he spoke of other things too, things which the children feared to think about. They feared it because they knew that the people who came to buy them wanted them only for those things: small parts, long parts, round parts… the chills it would give them just by thinking about it. And they tried not to think about it, just like how they tried not to think about the little girl on the wall. They tried to ignore the Master when he was feeding the girl her bi-weekly meal, and how he would stroke her hair and talk about all of the money that she was going to get him when he sold her, and when he spoke of how his clients were going to torture her once they bought her, and they helplessly tried to ignore when he lowered his hand to demonstrate. Some things were harder than others, like when they had to keep silent as these things occurred, or how when the girl bit or kicked him hard enough to make him fall they had to prevent the laughter and smiles, and also they had to make sure not to speak against the Master whenever he got up and struck her for her defiance. Oh, they wanted to console her, for they really did pity her, but feared that, at any moment, he would return and in anger treat them as he treated her.

And so they remained silent, even as much time went by, they left the fair-skinned child alone to the punishments of the Master. Even if they had ever decided to be brave enough to break the rules and speak to the girl, it would be far too late to be of any use. With each day that went by the light in her eyes slowly died. She was falling apart, piece by piece. The children came to notice this too. They noticed how the girl wouldn't defy the Master as frequent as she had in her first few weeks. She wouldn't bite him when he fed her, she stopped kicking him when spoke cruelly to her, and eventually she wouldn't even flinch under his touch. She had broken.

"Rise and shine kiddies!" The Master boomed. "Come on, get up you lot! We have an important day today. I got buyers coming soon and ain't none of you are gonna doze off and damage my business."

The children cringed, for it was the day that they feared the most. The day which buyers came, the day when strangers purchased them and took them away into new, unknown, fear-filled, lives.

The Master gave them some scraps to eat and they all lined up side by side in the cages. It wasn't long until they heard voices up on the main floor. The Master was already upstairs to greet them. It felt like hours to the children as, one-by-one, different buyers came in to browse through the cages. There ranges in buyers were surprisingly various. They ranged from shaggy-looking old men to wealthy young women. They even seemed to share different 'tastes' in purchases. Children of all ages were being taken out of the changes by the whims of the buyers. Each child taken from the cages were give a look-over and, after some haggling, were either sent back inside or were taken upstairs for the buyers and the Master to finalize the financial trade. About halfway through the day the Master brought down his 15th customer. It was a man who seemed to be in his early forties and appeared to be from an upper-middle class society. He eyed children from some of the cages while making small talk with the Master. He was about to turn to the case on the next wall when he noticed a figure in the corner and walked over to it.

"Oh, I see you've noticed my little treasure over there. You must have good taste to be interested in her."

The man huffed. "Why's she chained away from the others? Is she a trouble maker?"

"Oh no sir; not at all. It's just that I felt that such a prize like her should be put up on display." The man didn't reply to his comment as he looked over the girl. "So… what do you think?"

"She is rather unusual, she's practically an albino." The man sighed. "On the other hand, I have been rather bored with my other slaves. Perhaps I could use a little variation in my home."

"A perfectly good idea Sir; very nice. So you'll take her?"

"I suppose so." He replied dully. "Has she been used before?"

"No, no sir. This girl's as pure as her snowy little head."

"All right then. I'll take her."

"Wonderful! I'm sure that you'll enjoy her, guaranteed! Now, about the price…?"

"Fifty thousand pounds should be enough." The man suggested.

"Fifty thousand? My good sir, surely you can't honestly expect me to give away such a treasure for so low a price! She's worth at least two hundred thousand."

"I'm not here to throw away my money slave-trader. I will go for eighty thousand."

"Please Sir, be considerate. Look at how fair she is and her eyes too! A hundred and seventy five thousand no lower."

"Blue-eyed children are easy to find if you no where to look. A hundred thousand is sufficient."

"Well sure blue-eyes are common. But even in the lands of white men you can't possibly say that that silver hair is common. A hundred and fifty pounds and no lower Sir. That's my final offer!"

"…Alright then, we have a deal; a hundred and fifty thousand for the girl."

"Wonderful Sir! Now, if you would just follow me upstairs we can get everything settled."

"Not so fast slave trader. If I take her now the whole city would notice. I will come pick her up in the evening; and then I will pay for her."

"No problem Sir, I'll make sure to get her ready for the evening."

With that the man and the Master went upstairs and the business continued. By nightfall nearly half of the children had been sold and taken away. The man was to come within the hour to pick Laila up and so the Master went back to the basement to fetch her. "Congratulations kiddie. You're new Master's coming to get you soon. Aren't you excited?" The girl stayed still and made no reply. "Dumb brat." He mumbled. "You know, usually I'd hit you for being such a bitch. But I guess I'll have to make an exception. If you get damaged then the deal for you might get thrown off. And I can't let that happen now can I?" She still made no sound. The Master sighed and unlocked her chains. Once they unlocked she crumpled to the ground like a rag doll. "Oy, you've gotta be kidding me." he bent down to pick her up. "Alright kid, up you go now. Come on, stand up--!" The Master gasped and collapsed on his knees. "What the fuck was that?" he gasped it was then he noticed the knife wedged on his side. That knife, she always imagined that during her beatings he would have noticed the kitchen knife she stole all those months ago, strapped in a sheath against her back; but he never found it. It just lay there, for months, just waiting for the time when she could use it. Now was the time, and she wasn't going to hesitate. Once he was on his knees she pushed him to ground and grabbed handfuls of his hair. He clawed at her arms but she barely gave notice as she used an iron grip to start bashing his head against the ground. The room was in an uproar as the struggle continued. Under most circumstances the master would have been able to throw her off easily, but the knife inside of him was making everything unbearable enough, he was losing strength to fight back from the assault. After a few more slams against the ground the Master fell unconscious. He wasn't dead, but if he was left long enough he'd surely die of blood loss. The children cheered as Laila got up and took the knife from the man's side. Once she gained her balance she started to walk towards the door.

"hey wait a minute." One of the boys called out. "Get the keys kid. Get the keys so that we can get out!"

"Please, you gotta let us out. Help us!" A girl next to him pleaded.

Laila stopped and turned to them. She saw the fear and desperation in their eyes. She looked on as the other children called out to her. And then she finally, after many months, managed to finally speak to them.

"Do I know you?"

The children went silent. They could see it now, what had happened to her. She was dead on the inside, her eyes showed it. That was why she paid no heed to the Master as he clawed at her in her escape. She couldn't feel it, just as she couldn't feel out for the children in the cages. She had become an animal now. No, worse than that, she had become a shell, with hardly a mind and hardly a heart. And no sooner that they had realized this, she turned and walked out the room, leaving the other children alone, begging for their lives.


	9. Hunt

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. don't worry, the story actually starts to relate back to Yu-Gi-Oh in a couple of chapters. but for now, let's go to my unrelated mess of a story.**

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_They're coming…_

The winds blew heavily and the sand whipped against her face, but she had to endure in order to gain her prize.

_Sound._

She heard the groans of the beasts; and thanks to the sandstorm they didn't notice her as they drew near.

_Animals… coming closer. Closer …NOW!_

Once one of them came in sight she jumped on it and plunged a knife into its neck. The others shrieked in terror and fled deeper into the storm while the other struggled for life and freedom.

_Almost. _

She dragged the blade down the animal's throat until…

_There!_

… it stopped fighting and collapsed onto the ground.

After a moment of waiting for signs of life the girl got up and carried the animal with her against the storm.

After some time the winds died down and allowed the sand to rest on the ground. Now able to fully see, she took the opportunity to admire her prize. It wasn't all too big; the animal was just over half of her height. It had yellow fur, two long horns and was hoofed.

_I remember… gazelle? Yes, gazelle. And now, it's food._

She started to cut off the legs and one by one she devoured them until only the bones and hoofs remained. Once done with the legs she went for the head. Not much remained when she was done; anything that could be consumed of the head was eaten. The skull had been tricky to deal with but after a year of this practice she was skilled enough to get it open. Once her hunger was sated she wrapped the rest in a cloth so that it would be protected from the elements until her next meal time.

By now she could hear the cries of vultures overhead in anticipation to see what they could get their claws on. They had always been an irritant to her, mostly because they would always come down and try to steal her food and also gave away her location to other hungry predators. However, as time went by she managed to find some use of the buzzards, mostly as an extra meal to take on the road; and it was especially convenient with regards to how easy it was to capture one of them once they've become so gorged from their meals they were unable to fly for some time. Unfortunately, seeing as the only way to have one was to sacrifice the rest of the gazelle, the girl felt much better off without adding the vultures to her diet.

_Maybe later._

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**Note to Readers: In case this chapter really confuses you, allow me some time to explain the awkward lack of dialogue and content. As you already read last chapter, Laila's really lost it. She has been alienated, tortured and thus isolated herself from society. so naturally she not only lacks much ability to speak, but she has also lost a fair portion of her ability to think straight. Although she still has a small amount of human personality and intelligence left. As for the lack of content, as much as i'd like to go into detail about her daily life, the simple fact of the matter is that this is one of the only exciting things that would happen to her in an isolated life in the desert. She lives life like antisocial animal, alone but still does what is needed to survive. **

**P.S in case you're wondering, yes, this was a filler chapter. but i promise that this story ACTUALLY HAS A PLOT and I will be getting onto it.**

**maybe later, XD**


	10. Snake

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh. Ok, that's it, I've had enough with this stupid disclaimer thing. It's now chapter ten and I'm sure we all understand that I do not own this series. Besides, this chapter will be a sort of end-of-the-arc kind of thing, so I think that it'll be a good time to end the disclaimer claim.**

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The earth was scorching hot under the blazing sun. Its midday gaze was relentless unto the child's frail body. A ragged cloak remained as her only protection from the heat as she walked on. She was growing tired and faint with each step she took. She had not eaten in days and had run out of water two days ago. The hunger was painful and her thirst was maddening. Her only lead to survival was the sound of birds past the next dune. She had heard them some time ago, and followed them under instinct. Birds together meant that some source of sustenance was near by, and she was determined to get to it. After struggling up the dune she reached the top. Upon it, she saw a glorious cerulean mass on the other side that streamed down to the Nile.

_Water!_

In her excitement and desperation she began to run down the hill. Part way she lost her footing and tumbled downward to the bottom. After the crash she coughed and wheezed from the impact's toll on her lungs, but after a few heavy breathes she crawled towards the water. Once within reach she dunked her head in and drank as much as she could before her lungs cried out for air. After she took a chance to breathe she went back for more water. She continued this cycle until finally her body could take no more. She lay in the water for some time, allowing the liquid to cool her burning body.

After some time she got up and took a look at her surroundings. Along with the birds, there were also some insects crawling about, as well as a fair amount of vegetation. She also happened to spot a city not very far off; although that information was disregarded quite easily. Not much of the plants appeared to be very edible, but it wound be enough to quell her hunger for the time being. She walked away from the water and went to go find something to eat. At a nearby bush there appeared to be some fruit and it seemed to be safe to eat. She eagerly took handfuls of the fruit and began to devour them one by one; but upon a mid-bite she became distracted by a sudden rasping sound from within the bush.

_DANGERGETBACKSNAKE!_

She leaped back in fear as the sound got louder. Out from the bush emerged a small serpent. Its budging eyes stared dangerous at her as it came closer and closer with each round of its C-shaped coil. While keeping its gaze, the girl slowly drew out her blade from its hold. A confrontation was not something she wanted, and she knew that there was more to the creature than met the eye. She began to move back while keeping hold of the snake's gaze. She became hyper aware of the snake's poise, so intensely observant of its every move, that she failed to notice her own footing as she slipped on a loose stone, leaving herself open as the surprised snake attacked.

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She had to find one, and fast!

She managed to slash off the snake's head after she fell, but the snake had punctured her skin, and with it came a sudden pain from its poison. The only thing she was able to do at the time was to tie a tight cloth bind around her leg in hopes that the poison would not spread. But she knew that this would not be enough, it wouldn't take long before the effects got worse. As such, she got up from where she laid and did the unthinkable; she began to walk towards the town. She recalled from her past the men and women in white coats that cured her sicknesses from when she was very young. The names of such people escaped her memory, but she knew that if she found them, they would be able to get rid of the poison and keep her alive. Each step was more unbearably painful than the last, but she was desperate and panicked as blood trickled uncontrollably down her leg.

She eventually made it to the town. At once she frantically looked around as she walked through it, but she couldn't recognize any of the signs, which sadly prevented her from finding the men in white coats. As time went by she became more and more terrified as she walked through the streets. There were people all about, but none paid heed to the girl as she went by. Her eyes were tearing and her vision began to blur from the heat, tears and the pain. She was also growing tired and knew that if she continued like this she wouldn't last much longer. And so, the girl ultimately came to a realization, she would never be able to find help no matter how hard she tried and it would be useless to continue so. With this in thought, she hobbled over to a nearby alley that was without people to lie down next to a pile of scrap metal. Exhaustion was coming over her and her eyelids began to feel heavy. In these last few moments she composed herself allowed her mind to wander. There wasn't much to bring to mind, faint voices and faces from a long time pasted, family and friends whose names she could not remember, and recollections of dull and dark voids of places she wished she could forget altogether. As she opened her eyes a final time she became aware of a shadow over her that was not there before. She looked up to see a man towering over her slumped body. She was dazed and confused, but out of spite of her tranquilly indifferent mood she decided to ignore the man and looked back towards the ground. She heard him moved closer as he bent down to pick her up.

_NO!_

Her mind suddenly raced to the memory of a dark night and chains, and in fear she lashed out at him with what little strength she had.

_FIGHT!_

She kicked and screamed and bit at the man, but he held firm of her during the tantrum.

_Figh--…_

She continued to try to escape, but her past exhaustion was catching up to her, and she became weaker by the second.

…_tired_

Eventually her body slowed and her limbs grew heavy as her panting breaths became shallower.

_..sleep_

And as she began to drift away she was aware of a voice coming from above.

"I was afraid that it would come to this."

_darkness_

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**Hey there. So yes, I've finally updated. Well, I can't help it, I've had major writer's block for these last couple of chapters (despite the obvious shortness of them). Hopefully the others will be easier to write. Oh, and one thing interesting I felt like mentioning; I was playing my music while typing this up, and while I was working on the scene where Laila was in the alley I realized that the song that was playing was a funeral march (ya, out of 2003 songs on random THIS is the one that gets played). Now I know what your thinking, who the hell has a funeral march on there mp3? Well, I do, so deal with it XP. **

**R&R please! **

**~WDW**


	11. From Waif to Ward

**Hey everyone! Well, i guess this 'hi' should just go out the TDH cause she seems to be the only one that reads this story XD. So yes, before i run off to university i've decided to put this one up despite the shortness of it. And i'll try and put up another one before i go... or at the very least get started on it xP. Enjoy!**

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Chapter 11 From Waif to Ward

The man removed himself from his leisure reading once again to observe the child that lay on his bed. It was becoming habit to him. Of course, within the schedule of his daily routine, the sleeping girl was a newly come exception to what he was use to; and so he had to try to not be bothered by the abnormality of the situation. It had been three days since he brought her into his home; and those first days had proven to be quite unnerving for the man. The poison had rendered the girl into a near-death state. Its hemotoxic properties made her wounds unable to heal themselves and thus bled at a continuous rate. To make matters worse, any pressure on the body at all caused mass bruising to occur. However, as absurd as it seemed, it was both a blessing and a curse that the venom had such a presence on the girl; for despite the danger of the situation, the symptoms made it easier to find the proper antivenin to dispel the poison. And so now, after much hard work, the girl was safe from an early journey into the afterlife and was resting in an almost-unbroken cycle of sleep for the past day.

Although the child's health was no longer in immediate mortal danger the man was still at unease about what had occurred. That poison should not have taken such a toll on the girl's body. He knew that very well. The type of serpent which attacked her was not know to harm people to such an extent that they would have died within 48 hours. In fact, most don't even get it's symptoms until several days after an attack.

_But this child…_

He looked upon her once again and observed the travesty of a lonely waif. She was starved. Her body was frail and miniscule compared to others of her age. Her cheeks were sunken as well as her eyes. When she breathed, her rib cage was all but invisible from sight; even through the torn cloth which she wore. Quite a pitiful sight, really. It was no wonder that the poison spread so quickly and acted so powerfully against her. The child probably had barely enough strength to walk let allow fight off a snake's poison. She would have died before the sun had set that day if no one else had found her.

His fist clenched slightly. He knew the truth of the situation. No one else _would_ have bothered with the girl. It was obvious that she was completely on her own in the city. But it was strange. After all, fair-skinned or not, street urchins come together and live off each other in the city. That's the norm for them. If she were alone on the streets it shouldn't have taken long for others to have found her and taken her in. And it especially shouldn't have taken three years to accomplish!

He mused at that thought. _Three years_.

Had it truly been that long since that ill-fated day? Three years since he destroyed this child's very being? _That_, deep down, was the source of his dejection. The knowledge he held over the reason that this child was such a horrid wreck. It was his fault and he knew it. It had been bad enough when he carelessly, despite accidentally, altered her personality in such a way that was irreversible. But to make matters worse, he knew that she would break. He knew that a great trauma was all that was needed for the walls of her soul to topple. At the time, he didn't want to think that it would happen. But what else could have been an alternative? He knew the girl's mother was a part of Pegasus' excavation. He knew the curse that awaited those involved with the search for the Gods. HE KNEW THAT SHE WAS GOING TO DIE!

Perhaps he could have warned Pegasus back then? Maybe if he warned him to keep that woman away from the project things would have changed? Maybe so, but it is too late to think of such thoughts. What's done is done and cannot be changed. He allowed this unforgivable travesty to take place, and as such he must pay the price for his mistake. He broke from his train of thought to look at the child again as she began to toss and moan in her sleep. He walked over to the bed and put his hand upon her forehead. It was warm. She had a slight fever. He sighed and walked off towards the door. He would have to fetch some water to cool her body down. He should probably get her something to eat as well in case she wakes.

It was, in all honesty, rather awkward to be thinking of such things, for he never had anyone to care for other than himself in his home. But this was something that he would have to get use to. He knew it from the moment he found her in the alley and he made his decision after he saved her from the poison. He will have to take full responsibility for his actions. And he will have to do this by taking the girl in as his ward until he was able to heal her soul from the scars made as consequence from his actions.


End file.
